


Let's Go, Lightning (working title)

by LetsGoLightning



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: F/F, Fallout, Fallout 4 - Freeform, Nuka World, Nuka-World, Raiders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 10:55:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10718001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetsGoLightning/pseuds/LetsGoLightning
Summary: [A Fallout 4 fan fic that was supposed to fill a void but got way out of hand.]Roughly two-hundred years after the bombs fell, raiders have overrun a once popular theme park called Nuka-World. Alex has traveled into their territory, not entirely sure what she would find there besides a whole lot of thieves, junkies and lowlives. She is hell bent on getting her revenge. She will, somehow, exterminate all of them. She knows it will be difficult. She doesn't know it will be infinitely harder than she expected it to be.





	Let's Go, Lightning (working title)

**Author's Note:**

> The DLC Nuka-World, and actually the entire Fallout 4 game left me feeling so empty. It had a lot of potential but the story, the writing left a void. A void my brain started to fill whether I liked it or not. So, I decided to do something with it. Originally, I thought of writing a Cait fan fic but then Billie (one of my original characters) presented herself. I went with it and behold, finally, the first chapter of about 15 more to come. I wrote this mainly for myself but hope some of you might enjoy it, too. 
> 
> Please be gentle as this is the first thing I EVER wrote. I'm also Dutch. Like, don't even get me started about being Dutch. (jk we're taught English in school, it's pretty legit)

As if a sick torture maze wasn't enough.

Alex gazed down onto the bumper car arena, which was illuminated by red and blue lights. Debris and ceiling plates scattered across the floor, burying most of the bumper cars underneath. Blood splatters covered part of a wall to the back of the arena.

Right in the middle of the arena stood a giant man in power armor. The armor was covered with wires and encased his upper body in some sort of metal construction. The man sighed. "Now where..."

Metal clunked with his every move as he turned towards Alex.

"Ah. There is my next victim now." He chuckled. "Don't look like much. Got a pretty face though, might just keep you to myself. Last one died, anyway."

Alex said nothing back. Instead, she took in her surroundings. Along the sides of the bumper car floor downstairs, people had gathered. The raiders. Through dirty windows and wire fences they looked upon the arena, applauding and chanting.

She shifted her gaze, looked up. The air was smoky, diffusing the red and blue light coming from above. There, all along the ceiling, ran a wire fence. Metal rods connected the ceiling with the bumper cars as well as the man in the power suit.

He spoke again with a groan.

"So here's a quick run-down of how this works. You go stock up, make yourself presentable, and then we're gonna give these folks a show. A show where I decorate these walls here with your lovely brains. Thanks to this suit I'm the only one who wins this fight. Period. Think you're hot shit getting this far? Think again."

He paused, turned around.

"Alright Billie, let her through. Something tells me I'm _really_ gonna enjoy this."

The metal of the door before Alex echoed as its lock disengaged. Alex took a step back, expecting someone to be waiting behind it. She reached for her gun and slowly looked around the corners. There was no one.

"My dear fellow assholes!" A voice sounded through speakers. The same voice that had been taunting Alex all throughout the booby-trapped labyrinth they called _The Gauntlet_. "It's almost time!" his voice raised in excitement. "After a run like that, this ought to be the best slaughter yet!"

The raiders hollered. Hearing them chant in the background sent a jolt of apprehension through Alex' body. She took a deep breath. She was not going to end up like... who knows how many before her. She had to make it. She had to stop this maniac. And after that, all the others.

 

* * *

 

A young woman stepped out into the arena, tightening her armguards and reloading her gun.

Billie frowned as she stepped closer to the window. "Wait... What? No fucking way?" She muttered.

After blinking in disbelief a few times, Billie berated herself for doubting the woman's abilities. The fact that she had made it through was a miracle in itself. Only three Gunners – tough sons of bitches – and one young woman had made it through before this Champion. Besides, back then the Gauntlet was in an 'early phase' and nowhere near as dangerous as it was in its current state.

But this woman looked so... Polished?

Colter boasted and pranced. He yelled at the control room to "power up the place," which meant his armor would soon be provided with a crazy amount of energy from the electric fence on the ceiling. Billie had helped out with fixing the bumper car system and now deeply regretted it.

Colter cheered as the electricity came on.

Meanwhile, his opponent waited silently. She tucked her jet black hair behind her ear while she checked her leather boots.

Billie had to fight the urge to go and get this girl out of the arena. There was no way Colter wouldn't smash her pretty head in as soon as he turned around. But then again, this was the fifth person to have ever survived the Gauntlet. Moreover, she'd been quick and had come out almost unscathed. Billie figured this girl could have a lot more surprises in store.

"And she's ready to go, don't you think, people?" The announcer's voice broke Billie's train of thought violently.

The woman in the arena took something from her pockets and threw off her long coat. Billie extended her neck in an attempt to see what she was holding.

The announcer laughed through the speakers. "Well, I believe it's time for some refreshing Nuka Cola first! Why the fuck not, we're in Nuka World after all. Take a refreshing break, huh!"

Billie's frown reappeared on her face. The small female figure in the arena – the _Gauntlet Champion_ – held two bottles of Nuka Cola. She brought the bottles together at the tops and yanked. Some of the dark brown liquid escaped and she quickly drank the foam emerging from the bottles. With the side of her arm she wiped her mouth. "I'm ready!" Her voice was clear and determined. If she was at all scared, it didn't show.

Colter turned around and clumsily stamped towards her.

When he was closing in she turned sideways, tilted her head and slightly bent through her knees. In a swift and strong motion, she propelled a bottle at Colter. Without interrupting the movement, she swung back and the second bottle hit its target. Her finger pointed at the spot where her imaginary bullseye had been. The bottles broke as they hit the power suit, covering Colter in their contents.

His screams were audible throughout the arena. The entire power armor lit up, electrical currents tracing it from his toes all the way up to the ceiling it was connected to. The lights in the building flickered and went out.

The daylight coming from the windows wasn't enough for Billie to be able to see the arena. Her eyes frantically scanned the darkness. She blinked, trying to make her eyes get used to the darkness faster.

Suddenly, a green flashlight was switched on in the arena. It skipped around towards the middle. After a brief search the light found Colter, who was kneeling down. He was trying to steady himself by holding his arm out, looking for something to hold onto. He roared loudly, swung at the light and missed.

Accompanied by a flash of light, three consecutive gunshots pierced the tense silence in the arena.

Moments passed as everyone was silent in the darkness. When the lights came back on, Billie froze in place, her mouth agape. Colter lay, despite his conspicuous armor, in a pile of his own blood. Dead. The Champion had beaten the odds for the second time. She had done the impossible and had made it look so simple.

Billie quickly turned to Green.

"Green, what are we gonna do with this one? I think she could be an asset. Let's keep her prisoner here, we can use her. I mean, look at how far she got. Who knows what else she's capable of." She tried to talk as slowly as possible but didn't quite succeed.

"You crazy, Bill? She'll fuckin' kill us first chance she gets. Have you seen her? She's one angry broad. It was fun an' all that but we gotta get rid of her before shit gets dangerous."

"Green, come on. Remember last time someone made it through like that? Remember, me? You want me to sum up all the shit I've fixed for you since?" She paused and gauged Green's reaction. "She can be our link to the Commonwealth, Green. Think about it. She is well-equipped. I wanna know - and see - where that stuff came from. Don't you?"

"And who's gonna babysit her, huh? You're a busy gal, Bill."

Green smirked but Billie knew he wasn't joking around. She had to work hard to get this plan on track.

"I will do it, Green. Don't worry. I do my work well and you know it. I'll keep it up. Come on pops, can I have the pet?" She joked, hating herself for playing along with the father-daughter thing.

"You know what, Billie? I wanna see how you deal with this chick. You go ahead, surprise me." He looked at her with a smug face.

"Won't let you down, Green." Billie shrugged one shoulder, tilting her head towards it.

"Hey Bill," Green smiled, flashing his rotten teeth. "If you do, I'll kill you myself."

Replying with a _hmm-hmm_ as she walked away, Billie suppressed a shudder.

 

* * *

 

Alex bent down to collect her stuff. As slowly as she tried to move, her stomach still twisted and turned. Her head hurt as she stood up and swung her backpack over her shoulder. She looked at the dog, who had been patiently waiting for her in the locker room.

"Come on, buddy."

They walked back into the arena.

"Okay, stay close and play nice." Alex gestured at the floor beside her as they walked towards the other doorway.

A woman with two men behind her walked into the arena, slowly but determined. The men halted before the woman did. She made a few more steps towards Alex and with her head tilted, clicked her tongue.

Her features were sharp but attractive. Lips not too plump and eyes not too wide, yet both equally intriguing. Her copper hair, loosely half-tied at the back, matched her fiery demeanor. Loose strands of it framed her face. Through the grime and dirt, light freckles were visible on rosy cheeks.

The raider crossed her arms and stared back at Alex, assessing her just as meticulously.

A slight current ran through Alex' chest as she looked into the hazel green eyes.

Alex tried hard not to lower her gaze and instead clenched her jaws and raised her chin.

Finally, the silence was broken.

"What's your business here?"

"Just here to have a good time." Alex tried to be sarcastic in an attempt to hide her nervousness.

"You may want to try working with me here, because I think I'll do a better job of putting you down than our friend here," the raider snapped, her eyes narrowed.

"I'm helping out some people in the Commonwealth and heard there was good stuff to find here," Alex lied. No use in telling a raider that the real reason of her being here was to murder every single one of them. Especially not with their guns pointed at her.

"Good stuff like what? All the 'stuff' that's here belongs to _us_. You really think I believe that you didn't know we live here?"

"I'm not exactly acquainted with this area. Besides, you think I'd come here alone with my  _dog_ if I'd known there was a bunch of raiders living here?" She glanced down at the loyal fur-coated killing machine beside her, holding back a smirk.

"Yet you seem to be quite the warrior, breezing through the Gauntlet, taking down Colter singlehandedly. You telling me you've learned that during your time as a farmhand?"

Most of the raider groups Alex had encountered before had been savages without any notion of internal organization. She couldn't help but wonder how this raider before her had become so well-spoken.

"I'm not a warrior. I guess I'm just clever. More so than you all expected, anyway." Alex looked at the man-mountain that had been rendered lifeless by her hands. Part of her felt disgusted by the pit fight, by murdering someone in front of an audience like that.

"We'll see how clever you are. Let's go somewhere nice and quiet. Move it. The dog, too."

Alex tilted her head and looked at the female raider with narrowed eyes. She faked a smile that was not supposed to be convincing. "Sure. I'd be glad to."

The raider nudged her head and the two guys beside her stepped towards Alex.

Alex looked around. The only way out was back through the maze of death, which was way too dangerous to pass through in a hurry. She looked back to the men next to her. As opposed to Colter, who had been way too arrogant, these guys had guns. She didn't stand a chance.

They roughly escorted her towards the exit. She tried to keep up with them as her knees shook and her insides churned.

 

* * *

 

The sudden brightness of the sun hurt her eyes. The air smelled of smoke and dust and garbage was scattered everywhere. A massive Nuka World entryway arch towered above, it's colors faded. Before the war, Nuka Cola had been a renowned brand. Its popularity peaked in the 2070's, right before the bombs fell. Right before the apocalypse. The theme park was wildly popular during that time. It looked nothing like she remembered...

It was quiet here but in the distance Alex could hear the buzz of activity. Gunshots, dogs barking, tools hitting metal surfaces and rowdy voices filled her ears. A dry wind blew in her face.

"Walk, lady." A rifle painfully dug in her back.

Alex clenched her jaws as she recalled the face of the man behind her. Beard, one eye half closed, making him look like someone shone a flashlight in his face after waking him from a deep sleep. Balding and sickly. Transfigured by alcohol and cigarettes and who knows what else.

The man to her left smiled crookedly at her and licked the corner of his mouth. She looked at his distinctive scar that ran from one side of his face to the other and scowled. It only made him grin wider. Alex turned her eyes to the front, suppressing a shiver.

On both sides of the curved avenue, wooden shacks and bridges were built between the existing structures. The pre-war houses with their bright pastel colors contrasted with the scavenged wood and metal of the makeshift huts. Some raiders patrolled around the gates and up on the bridges.

"Hey, Billie! Good catch today!" A group of men cheered. One of them stuck two fingers up and licked the space between them.

The woman walking in front smiled and gave him the middle finger.

They entered a run-down building and walked through its hallways full of junk, drugs and weapons. Eventually, they entered a small room with concrete walls and floors. The concrete smelled damp, moldy. The small room was lit by two oil lanterns that emitted more of a stench than actual light.

They harshly took her bag, her coat and her Pip-Boy off her. Alex resisted but it was no use as one of the men – scar face – punched her and the other held his rifle to her head. When they were done with her, the balding guy kicked her in the hip. Alex staggered back, her jaws clashing together at the impact of the foot, her tooth piercing her lip. The blood tasted strange in her dry mouth.

The redhead ordered the two men to "go and chill somewhere" and grabbed the chair. She set the chair down facing backwards and sat, her arms leaning over the backrest. A gesture towards the bed implied that Alex should sit. Like a caged animal, Alex obeyed, crawling towards the bed.

"Give me three reasons why I shouldn't kill you."

Alex shrugged. Blood touched her hand as she wiped her lip. She grimaced.

The raider laughed coldly and took her gun from its holster. She observed it, smiling with her mouth but not her eyes, turning it around in her hand. "Okay, so any last words?"

Alex hoped this was just a way to scare her into talking. She straightened her back and looked the raider in the eyes. "I know you need me for something, otherwise you would've killed me already."

Too cheeky but Alex knew she'd hit the mark.

The smile disappeared from the raider's face. Her grip on the chair tightened. "Has it occurred to you that maybe we like to toy with our prey?" She asked sharply, yet she wasn't expecting an answer. "So, I asked you a question and you are going to talk. Where are you from and why did you _really_ come here?"

"I'm from the Commonwealth, Boston. I travel around a lot but I have a base near... Diamond City. I came here, like I said, for supplies. Pretty much anything I can find."

"And you were going to haul all that back in your pockets?"

"I know some people, a caravan. We wanted to set up a supply line but I had to scout first. We couldn't risk multiple lives for a haul that might be worthless." Alex had a feeling her story was finally convincing enough.

The woman opposite her remained silent for a while. She stared at Alex, deadpan look on her face. For the second time today, Alex had to make an effort not to avert her eyes. She clenched her jaw in frustration. A feverish feeling crept up on her, along with another sharp headache. She wasn't blushing, though. Something was definitely going wrong inside.

"Well," the raider let out a sigh as she abruptly stood up, "I'll see you around." She smirked as she walked out and locked the door.

Alex' gaze followed the woman as she left. Frowning, she looked around. It was quiet and dark. And disgusting. Weirdly enough, though, Alex enjoyed being in this room. For now, there were no raiders or wasteland creatures around. No hazards, nothing that wanted to kill her. She rested her head in her hands and closed her eyes, still surprised at the sudden exit of her interrogator.

She sat there for a while, still shut, and listened to her dog's heavy breathing as he slept.

Without any windows it was difficult to tell how much time had passed. Feeling her muscles starting to ache, Alex curled up on the dirty bed. She felt nauseated. With her eyes closed, she reached out to the floor to find Dogmeat.

"Hey, hey come here," she said. Her voice was weak. She patted on the bed.

Dogmeat climbed onto the bed and snuggled up against her belly. She happily gave up the fight against exhaustion, letting it take over.

As she woke up, some time later, her stomach twisted and turned. Her face was burning up and she felt even more nauseated than before. Dogmeat nudged her arm. Sitting up took all of her effort and she was only half-conscious, it seemed.

Her breathing started to become heavier. She crawled to the side of the room where she'd seen a bucket. Despite her vision going blurry and dark, she managed to grasp it just in time before she retched. Her stomach had been empty for a long time but her body apparently did not register that. She gasped for air as the sickness hijacked her body.

She spat, inhaled deeply and let out a shuddering breath. Holding on to the bucket became less and less achievable. Alex pushed it aside and made sure she was lying face down so she wouldn't choke on vomit. Her cheeks and forehead flushed with a fiery heat as she fainted.

 

* * *

 

Billie kicked the door out of her way as she entered. She frowned upon finding the black-haired woman lying face-down.

"You could've picked... the bed instead," she muttered, pausing briefly while stepping closer. "Wake up!" She shouted.

Silence.

"Well shit. Come on, wake up."

The female figure was as light as she looked. Billie turned her around and listened for her breathing, sighing in relief at the sound of it. The dog sat motionless and glared at Billie, as though he was asking for her to do something.

She glanced over to the bucket and grimaced as she connected the dots. Radiation poisoning. No doubt it was caused by the so-called _Rad Room_ in the Gauntlet.

"Okay, come on." She grunted as she carefully put the woman in a sitting position, with her back against the wall.

Billie left the room and walked as fast as she could without running.

She entered the kitchen, walked up to the counter and rummaged through the containers until she found cooking oil and a can of purified water.

A crackling voice interrupted the clinking of cans and bottles.

"What's up?"

Billie swung around, her eyes wide.

"Got a bad conscience, Bill?" The cook gave her a crooked smile.

"Psh. I'm a saint and you know it." Billie quickly composed herself. "Just getting some uh... water and oil."

"This bitch got demands, too?"

"Nah, I just figured she's not much use to us if she dies." She sounded more like her uninterested and cold self again.

The cook grunted. "Hmpf. I say let her die. She ain't one of us."

"We'll make her one of us, use her to our advantage. If we don't succeed I'll kill her myself." She tried to walk away as casually as she could, waved her hand in the air.

Back in the dark room she quickly closed the door behind her.

Her prisoner was right where she had left her in the corner of the room, though she had fallen over.

Billie helped her back up and put the back of her hand at her forehead. Burning up, no surprise.

"Wake up," she whispered, "you have to drink this."

The woman awoke slowly. Eyes steel gray, darker at the edges of the irises, stared into nothingness, the eyelids still half-closed.

"Drink it. It will make you feel better," Billie repeated, quietly now.

She rejected the bottle with a groan.

"For fuck's sake. You have radiation poisoning. Now drink the oil before it gets deeper into your system."

The first three sips didn't stay down for long. After a short pause, the next few went better.

Her skin was rosy, flawless aside from a scar on her cheek, a smaller one on her chin and some lighter pigmentations along her neck. The blemishes suited her. Her collarbones were pronounced, one of them bruised. More bruises were visible on her arms. The left arm was a bit paler around the wrist than the rest of her skin. Billie remembered the green light coming from the wrist computer, shining in Colter's face just before three bullets entered it.

The dog let out a soft grunt, distracting Billie from the porcelain doll in her arms.

"Yeah, gotta take you to Shelbie before they get to you," she muttered.

She let the woman slide from her grasp and laid her on her side, into a position that seemed safe. Sooner or later, that oil was going to be at least partly rejected by her body. Having her choke on vomit was not part of the plan.

Much to her relief, the dog seemed to trust her and approached her as she bent down on one knee.

"Let's go boy," she said, stroking his fur, "I'll take you some place better. Don't worry."

The dog hesitated and looked back to his owner before he followed Billie outside.

 

* * *

 

Alex woke to her stomach pulling at her entire body, twitching at its emptiness. Her throat felt sore and acidic. Slowly, she tried to sit up.

As the room went from blurry to sort-of-clear, she noticed she was all alone.

The barely recognizable, hoarse sound of her voice startled her as she spoke. "Dogmeat?"

He was gone. Her heart skipped a beat, it seemed. Blood shot to her face, hummed in her ears. She scrambled to the door, tugged at the handle. Futile. It was locked, of course.

"Let me out!" She shouted. "Let me out of here! Give back my dog!" Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I want the fucking dog back!"

She got up, too fast for her legs nearly gave in. Stumbling, she reached the chair. Though it took most of her power to even pick it up, she launched it at the door in an attempt to break herself out. Also futile. Her body barely had the energy to stand upright, let alone to destroy the door with a chair.

Alex dropped to her knees. This frenzy was unlike her. Screaming, begging to be let out was not going to have any effect. She needed to think, think of something that would actually work.

She put her fingertips at her temples, pressed hard. Would she just have to wait until an opportunity presented itself? She was good at that, lurking in the shadows all cat-like, striking at the right moment.

Except now she couldn't. Not when it was about her last tether to sanity, Dogmeat.

A few moments passed as Alex looked around her cell.

"Yes!" she exclaimed as she looked at the lock on the door. It was a regular lock, not a padlock. She could pick this.

Shaky but determined, she stood up. She sniffled, wiped her cheek, then patted her hair to look for a bobby pin. None. She checked the waistband of her jeans, her shoes.

"I still..." She mused, combing through her bra. There she found two bobby pins. Only one chance to get it right.

She made the pins into lock picks, gingerly, careful not to break them. Before she started to fiddle with the lock, she put her ear to the door. No sounds.

"Someone there?" She took the chance to see if anyone would reply.

Still nothing. Time to get to work. She slid the first bobby pin into the lock, slowly. The other one she wriggled in the lock until she heard satisfying clicks. Finally, the lock was free. She turned it.

She was out.

Quickly, she looked back and scanned the room to see if there was anything she could use. Nothing but a bed and a bucket... And a broken chair. A leg of a chair would work just fine. Alex was relieved they'd been stupid enough to leave her a that.

She inhaled deeply. In the back of her mind, she knew she was too weak to defend herself if needed. The sane thing, the wisest thing perhaps, was to wait in the cell and see what opportunities she could grasp when _they_ came to talk to her.

For once, Alex decided, she would not do the sane thing. She decided to do the risky thing. A small voice in the back of her head reminded her that this was not a one-time occurence, as she'd already been crazy enough to go here in the first place.

Stumbling, she traversed the dirty hallways, checking every corner. The building was deserted. It seemed too good to be true but Alex pushed on. She was nearing the exit she came through when they brought her here.

Hiding around the corner, she listened for sounds. From where she stood, she could see through a window. It appeared to be somewhere early in the evening. It was quiet outside, no gunshots or hammering noises. Just the occasional dog barking in the distance. Her heart beat faster hearing it. A dog... Her dog?

She rounded the corner and headed for the door. Her body barely cooperated but she was moving. This had been a bad idea, but was it worse than sitting in a cell, leave her dog in the hands of some _raiders_?

Almost there now. As she reached for the door, it swung open. She gasped. Stunned, she stared into the eyes of the red-haired raider, who stared back at her. In her arms she held a tray. Food.

Seconds passed before Alex recovered and prepared to lunge her entire body weight into the raider woman.

"What are y..." the raider said, not being able to finish her sentence before Alex' shoulder crashed into her chest. The tray dropped to the floor, deafeningly clashing with it.

It took more out of Alex than she'd anticipated. The two women fell to the floor, colliding a second time as they reached it.

The raider groaned, first in pain, then in outrage. Her legs kicked Alex in the chest as she wriggled out from underneath her. "What the fuck are you doing?" she growled. In reply, Alex reached for the tray and held it in the air, ready to hit the other woman. She wasn't fast enough however, giving the raider the chance to catch her wrist before she brought the tray down.

"Stop it! Stop it!" the raider hissed. Her hand was wrapped tightly around Alex' wrist. "What are you doing? Are you god damn stupid? If they catch you, it's both our asses. What were you gonna do, huh? Stumble out of here like that?"

Alex tried to free her arm, tried to get back up on her feet. "My fucking dog! Where is he?" she shouted. She was losing too much strength.

The raider interrupted her before she finished speaking. "You risked your ass _and_ mine for a dog?" She stood up, releasing Alex, who dropped to the floor like a ragdoll. "You're in a piss poor state," the raider said. "You better wait in your cell, until you've recovered and until we come with a proposition for you. Like you said, smart ass, if we'd have wanted you dead you'd have been already. No use in doing it yourself if we weren't going to do it in the first place."

Alex managed to stand up. She let out a strained sigh. This woman was right. Shit.

"Let's go," said the raider. "No food then, you've done this to yourself." She stretched her neck towards her shoulder and groaned in discomfort. "You're lucky the rest is having a feast, or you'd be dead. Better hungry than dead, right? Walk."

After some slight hesitation, Alex obeyed. She decided she would go back to doing the sane thing. For now, the sane thing was to sit a cell, to trust a plundering bitch and her band of scum to take care of her and her dog, and to wait for their _proposition_. The risky thing had been a mistake, a big one, a stupid one. It was too late to do anything about it, though. She had to see this through. Hopefully alive. 


End file.
